An Angel Burned
by AnteNomad
Summary: A short story about Ultimecia. Adapted from Unfinished Business, a long story about many things.
1. Innocence

Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.  
Thomas Jefferson  
  
  
**NOMAD presents  
a FINAL FANTASY VII Fan Fiction  
  
AN ANGEL BURNED  
  
a RUG CENTRAL production**  
  


  
The house was old and run-down; her mother, always able to look on the bright side, called it and teased that at least she would have a hard time knowing how much of the damage her daughter had just caused in her play. The once ivory-white walls were dulled to a near-grey, and the carpeted floor was a mottled patchwork of different shades of bluish grey, testifying to generations of wear that no cleaning spell could hope to reverse.  
  
But it wasn't so bad. The house's windows gave an excellent view across the long-barren Great Salt Lake, which would keep the little girl entertained for hours, especially when some other kids were playing around on airbikes or there was a launch for Selene, the city in space. And the video terminal would keep her mystified by sights of faraway lands and tales of legendary heroes. And so she grew up never really wondering why she was never allowed to step outside.  
  
Of course, she would occasionally sneak out during the long days when her mother was out — and had neglected to lock the door. She never went far, and always moved about with caution, so that no one would see her come or go. She didn't really know why; probably due to some instinct inherited from her mother. She always seemed to have this air that someone was watching her; she denied it every time the little girl asked her, but the girl was as sure as a girl of eight could be that her mother was hiding something. Or hiding _from_ something.  
  
It wasn't uncommon for her to dream about being able to go outside, to have friends and adventures like the shows on the terminal. She always got sad after dreams like that. Sad, and scared. Scared that everyone would hate her, that for some reason they would all want to hurt her. But she never shared these dreams or these feelings to her mother.  
  
Usually her mother would come home from wherever she went in the daytime with a smile, swooping her up into her arms with a How's my girl? or Come here, my little angel! All smiles, she would head over to the stove and ask what she wanted for dinner — already pulling out the ingredients for a Gysahl stew, as the answer is always the same. They would talk about what the little girl has seen on the terminal, or her mother would tell stories about Selene, which the girl could never get enough of, and her mother never seemed to run out of.  
  
Today, she was running a bit late, and the little girl was getting hungry. Not for the first time, she was eying the stove with a mind to try once more to start the thing herself. She didn't like going near the thing — the heat conjured memories of being surrounded by fire, with people shouting at her from all around — but hunger was beginning to override her reservations.  
  
She never got the chance to face the stove. Just as she had nearly made up her mind to brave the fragmented memories, the door faded open, and her mother swept through. Her customary smile is gone, replaced by a shadowed face masked with grim seriousness as she ran straight to the closet.  
  
Sarina, get together all of your things you can carry, were the first words her mother spoke to her, as she withdrew a shoulder pack from the closet. We're going away for a while.  
  
The little girl mearly blinked. What was happening? Why was her mother acting so strange?  
  
Where are we going, Mama? she asked, not moving an inch.  
  
Her mother cast a glare at her. Please dear, I don't have time to explain. Just get your things together. Hurry.  
  
She was stunned by the uncharacteristic harshness of her mother's admonition. Why was her mother being so mean to her? She hadn't done anything, had she? Her vision blurred, and she fought the urge to burst into tears. Are...Are you mad at me, Mama? she choked.  
  
Her mother paused from stuffing her belongings into her pack, and her expression softened. Of course not, dear, she said, rushing over to her daughter and kneeling down to her eye level. Resting one hand on her shoulder, she stroked away a tear that had begun to creep down the little girl's cheek. Sarina, you have to understand that what's happening has nothing to do with you. This is _not_ your fault, and I had so hoped that you would never have to be put through this again. A shadow passed over her face, and she averted her eyes. But sometimes there are things that I just have to do, for both of our futures. Someday, I hope you'll understand.  
  
The little girl gazed at her mother's pained expression, unable to comprehend a thing about what was happening, or why, or what was making her mother act this way. But she nodded.  
  
Where are we going, Mama? she repeated.  
  
Far away, dear, her mother said, getting up and returning to the closet to withdraw a white-feathered sleeveset. It had been there for as long as the little girl can remember, despite the fact that she had not once been cold enough to need it. Someplace where we can start a real life for a change. Here, put this on.  
  
What happened in the next few moments would register to the girl only in a blur, but would be clarified countless times in her nightmares for years to come. The door faded open, and three white-clad figures — two men and a woman — burst in. Her mother spun around, then froze with a terrified look on her face.  
  
Sorceress Kailen, said the woman, Come with us now, and we can avoid any unpleasantries. She saw the little girl standing frozen before the stove, having still not budged. Get her, she ordered to one of the men.  
  
A wave of energy erupted from her mother's hands, piercing through magenta shells to throw all three intruders against the wall. Stay away from my daughter! she commanded, her voice cracking.  
  
The three strangers reacted instantly, and what followed was a display of power that threatened to tear the very house apart. Somewhere in the midst of the chaos, the sleeveset held by the girl's mother literally exploded, sending feathers, many now charred and black, raining down on the little girl who stood in the corner, screaming herself hoarse. A sickly burnt odor filled the room.  
  
To a young girl who had barely stepped outside the doors of her own house, the horrors she was forced to witness were all but unimaginable. She was likely saved from complete madness only by her failure to truly comprehend the battle that was playing out in front of her. In the end, she was the only one left standing; all three of the strangers lay prone on the floor, as did her mother, fallen against a wall and coughing blood.  
  
she screamed, running to her mother's side, gripping the woman's torn clothes and attempting to pull her to her feet.  
  
No, dear, her mother moaned, feebly motioning to the door. You must...get away. I can't let you live...as I have.  
  
Why, Mama? the girl queried, searching for words to vocalize the whirlwind of feelings and thoughts that make it impossible for her to think.   
  
Her mother reached up, attempting to stroke her daughter's cheek. Sarina...you can't stay here any longer. My...little angel...please don't let this...happen to you....  
  
Her eyes fluttered closed, even as a whispered escaped from her lips. Her arm tried weakly to push the eight-year-old girl away, then fell limp.  
  
The little girl was still trying to get her mother to sit up, when a strange violet glow appeared in the woman's chest. Before the girl could react, there erupted a blinding flash, and the glow became a lightning streak of energy, plowing straight into the little girl. She screamed as she was thrown backwards, and for an instant her entire body went numb. She lay where she fell, moving robotically until she managed to regain control of her nerves. As she stood, an odd tingling spread through her body.  
  
She staggered back to where her mother lay, and tried once more to get her up. But it was no good; the woman's chest no longer rose or fell to show her breathing, and her eyes remained closed and still. Even the little girl who had only seen death on the terminal knew on some level that her mother was gone. With tears welling up in her eyes, she turned and ran, past the bodies of the three white-clothed strangers, out the door and away from the remnants of her life.


	2. Fear

Sometimes, Sarina would look out the window at the planet below, spinning too slowly for the normal human eye to detect. Shrouded by wispy white clouds, the greens and browns of the continents and blues of the oceans made the world shine like some jewel or magic stone in the night sky.  
  
On the other side, in stark contrast, lay the curve of the moon. Its surface, obscured by shadow, appeared sinister and foreboding, the object of nightmare stories told by mothers to naughty children. Though all the monsters had been exterminated in the Great Purges decades ago, the lunar world still held the aura of darkness that permeated its history.  
  
And then there was the white disk of Selene, floating in the vacuum between the two bodies, caught in their eternal gravitational struggle. The city in space, still thought by many to be a myth or a fool's imagining, was a true community, a place which thousands called home.  
  
Sarina called no place home. Selene was merely the place where she had been for the longest time in her life. She had only fragments of memory from her childhood, and when the memories would become clear, she willed them away with all her strength. She had only one memento from her first, hidden life; she always bore a band on her left wrist, attached to which was a single white feather.  
  
  
  
Blinking, she glanced over her shoulder at the source of the voice. The speaker was a young man, perhaps a year or two older than she, clad in a black padded jacket — an unusual sight in the climate-controlled city. A long, braided lock of otherwise close-cut brown hair fell down the left side of his face, adding to his sort of roguish look. But the feature that gave her pause was his eyes, penetrating grey eyes that seemed to look _inside_ her, without concern for such things as clothes or flesh. He is looking at her with his brows slightly furrowed in a sort of concern.  
  
...What do you want? she asked, frowning back at him.  
  
He shrugged. I was just a little curious about you.  
  
  
  
Every time you come in here, you stand in front of this window, staring out into space. His voice, she noted, was nearly as dry as her own. Not too many people come to bars if they don't want company.  
  
_Bars?_ Frowning, she looked at the room around her, and her eyebrows jumped up as she saw the place for the first time. I'm in a bar, she mused.  
  
Now, it was his eyebrows' turn to jump. You never noticed before?  
  
I only come for the view.  
  
He scrutinized her for a moment, eyes once again seeming to bore straight through her. Why do you spend so much time looking out at space? he asks, narrowing his eyes in a way that make her even more uncomfortable.  
  
Because I wonder what it would be like to be out there. She sighed, allowing herself to forget his presence for a moment, and softly intoned, To dart about the heavens, to mingle with the stars. To be a part of that perfect world, not watch it from afar.'  
  
_One-winged Angel,_ he identified.  
  
She blinked. You know it?  
  
_Know_ it, sure. But I never really cared for it. It's so unnecessarily depressing.  
  
  
  
Yes. She could have made a life for herself in the human world, but she has to keep brooding after what she can never have again. It's pointless self-abuse.  
  
She made a face. It's a song.  
  
It's a story. Songs usually have a meaning within them. Take _Eyes on Me,_ a classic from —  
  
She cut him off, shaking her head. _Eyes on Me_? You can't really expect that song to be taken seriously.  
  
His eyebrows jumped once again.  
  
It's a total fairie tale. The idea that she could even _notice_ the guy, much less have a thing for him, is totally unrealistic. It might be a fun thing to fantasize about, but it could never really happen.  
  
Those eyes peered at her again. You seem to have it all figured out.  
  
So do you.  
  
You free for dinner?  
  
She blinked.   
  
He shrugged, still not averting his eyes. Something about you is telling me that I should ask you to dinner.  
  
Well, I work over dinner, she said, a little haltingly.  
  
He nodded. Are you working right now?  
  


- - = = = = - -  


  
They were walking down one of the station's balcony paths, surrounded on three sides by the emptiness of space. Even the floor was composed of glasteel, the walkway marked only by a pair of white guiding lines. Sarina had picked the path, of course, and her companion seemed content to let her have her way.  
  
Do you come here often? he asked.  
  
It's one of my favorite places, she replied.  
  
So when you're not stargazing in bars, you're stargazing from balconies.  
  
I do have a job.  
  
Everyone has a job. Do you have a life?  
  
She stopped, spinning to glare at her companion. And what is _that_ supposed to mean?  
  
The eyebrows again. Why so defensive?  
  
I've known you for less than an hour, and you're taking apart my whole life?  
  
Actually, I thought I'd try to take it on whole.  
  
She started walking again. Why do you even care?  
  
That's one of the things I'm trying to find out.  
  
She _hmmph_ed. Is this mysterious stranger act supposed to be cool?  
  
Why are you trying so hard to avoid my question?  
  
She glared at him again. I don't share details about myself with people I just met. I don't even know your name.  
  
He nodded. That's understandable. I'm Darren.  
  
She walked away.  
  
You know, you don't have to say a word to answer me.  
  
Good. I'm going now.  
  
What's the hurry? He was following her. You don't have anywhere else to be.  
  
How do you know?  
  
I know. You spend your whole life looking out at the stars, wishing you were somewhere else. Or maybe just wondering what it would be like. You're the one-winged angel.  
  
Once again, she was stopped in her tracks. What do you want?  
  
I told you, I'm not sure. I just know that there's something about you that makes me want to know more.  
  
She folded her arms. You seem to have all the answers already.  
  
He took a step closer. I know who you are. But I also need to know why, or I'll never really understand you.  
  
Why do you even want to?  
  
Once again, his eyes peered into her. This time, the effect was such that her heart nearly skipped a beat. Because I've never met anyone like you. You're a mystery to me, and that's not a feeling I enjoy.  
  
Her breath was coming as if she had just ran a circuit, and her heart seemed to be pounding against her chest. She couldn't recall ever experiencing a feeling like this before. Then guess how I feel.  
  
You're afraid.  
  
I'm afraid of you? she asked. The question had been meant to be haughty, but came out almost plaintively.  
  
He shook his head. No. You're afraid of yourself.  
  
She averted her eyes, trying to bring her breathing under control. Then, she sensed his hand touching her cheek, and froze. Her eyes jumped up to meet his again, and she sensed the first hint of emotion in his face. For a few seconds, they remained locked in each other's gaze. Then, in a simple action that seemed to her a flash of motion, he leaned forward and kissed her.  
  
Her breath caught, and every muscle in Sarina's body locked itself in place. For the seeming eternity in which she felt the pressure of his lips on her own, not a single other sense could register on her mind, and not a single thought could pass through it. It was as if she were caught in some sort of knot in time, unable to move beyond that one instant.  
  
Then, the moment was over, just as suddenly as it had began. He was standing, just as he had been before, with that same, indiscernible emotion shown on his face. As if nothing had happened.  
  
He spoke first. And something about that makes me afraid of you, too.


	3. Life

It wasn't exactly the beginning of a faerie-tale romance. Nonetheless, Sarina spent the next few weeks in a sort of trance. For years, she had managed to stumble through life perfectly well, without having anyone else in it.  
  
But now, suddenly, there _was_ someone else. Their relationship was in many ways as strange as their meeting; one would show up at one of the other's haunts, and they would take it from there, usually wandering around the city together in bouts of silence punctuated with disjointed conversation. And through these conversations, she began to see through the mystery surrounding the man. Darren, like her, had no family or close friends, although they would occasionally meet casual acquaintances of his while walking through the promenade. He lived in the apartment cluster, though nowhere near her, and worked at the reactor every other day. Though he never talked about himself, she suspected that his life, unlike hers, had simply been exceptionally dull.  
  
Weeks became months, and Sarina began to adjust to her new life — or, as Darren put it, having a life. And she could tell a difference. Now, there was something driving her to get out of bed in the morning, a focus to her daily actions. And she did begin to notice her surroundings more than she used to — now she was perfectly aware when she was entering a bar. She was almost angry at herself, for becoming such a cliché: the little lost girl who learns how to love, but then she found that she was actually _enjoying_ her life, for the first time in an eternity.  
  
She was walking with Darren along one of Selene's promenades, in one of their usual bouts of silence, when a stray word on one of the wall TVs caught her attention. She blinked, and her chest suddenly tightened, though the speaker's words had not registered on her conscious mind.  
  
What was that? she asked, stepping closer to the screen.  
  
_While the possibility of a Sorceress in hiding somewhere on Selene is remote at best,_ the announcer was saying, _SeeD nonetheless feels it to be its responsibility to investigate. If Sorceress Kailen did indeed have a daughter, she would have lived for over a decade without causing any notable disturbance. Still, where there is a Sorceress, there is always a threat._  
  
And in the space of those few seconds, Sarina felt as if a spear had been run through her chest. Her vision blurred as her eyes searched madly about her for Darren's form, something to steady herself against as the world began to spin. As her legs gave out under her, she could feel his arms stopping her fall, his voice breaking through the haze and calling her body back under the control of her mind.  
  
Are you all right? he asked.  
  
She looked once again at the screen, yet the announcer was gone. For a second, she hoped that what she saw was only a hellish nightmare.  
  
she said.  
  


- - = = = = - -  


  
You're a Sorceress?!  
  
Unable to speak, unable even to look at him, she nodded, eyes fixed on the floor of her room.  
  
A long bout of silence followed her affirmation. Not like their usual silent periods; this time, the quiet seemed oppressive, as if the pressure of the air was going to crush her if she doesn't cry out. Yet she kept quiet, for reasons she herself did not understand. Perhaps only because she could not think of a single word to say.  
  
Eleven years ago, her life had fallen apart — and, she was sure, there lay some part of her first years that was also scarred — because of this power that she now had. She certainly hadn't asked to be a Sorceress, and she had never given anyone reason to fear her, yet nonetheless that battle to which she had been witness to when she was eight years old had led SeeD to come hunting her down.  
  
Perhaps this was why she had never made any attachments in her life on Selene; should she have to escape, no one would notice her departure or wonder where she went. Any such reasoning would have had to be on a subconscious level, however; she had never really given much thought to her identity as a Sorceress. Indeed, she had never truly been sure that this was what that burst of energy from her mother's body truly meant. Of course, she knew — the power was within her, and she could not deny it, even if she had managed to ignore it for eleven years.  
  
If this news had come even three months ago, she could have hopped on a transport with no regrets. There would have been nothing to look back to; she would simply have taken up hiding somewhere else. Now, however....  
  
Darren was sitting on the opposite side of the room, shaking his head. What does he think of all this, she wondered. Whatever their relationship was, she could not imagine where it might go from there. Until that moment on the promenade, she had managed to fool herself as to how insignificant her power was, to herself and to him. Now, she had to face the fact that this man might disappear from her life, leaving her with the void which she now knew she had. Maybe it would have been better if she had never met him.  
  
No. It would have been better if SeeD had not come into her house eleven years ago and killed her mother. Or if they were not coming now.  
  
Finally, she spoke. I...have to go, she said, voice cracking.  
  
Darren was silent for another moment. Finally, he stood, grey eyes searching deep inside her. Where are you going to go?  
  
She shook her head. Away. I don't know where. Someplace where I can't be found.  
  
And you'll live, cut off from everyone around you, just in case you are and you have to leave again.  
  
Don't...don't analyze me.  
  
What would you rather I do? The first edge of a tone appeared in his voice, which gradually raised to a shout. Would you rather I ask, what the hell were you thinking when you told me this? Why couldn't you just disappear into the night and leave me wondering, instead of obliging me by law to give my name to SeeD? Why did I have to know this, Sarina? Why?  
  
Taken aback by the harshness of his words, she did not respond, and another bout of silence passed.  
  
As soon as I saw you, I knew there was this weight you were carrying, he continued after a moment, voice trembling but calm. You'd been carrying it for a long time, I knew that. So long that you'd managed to hide it from yourself. I could tell all that. But I could never figure out what it was that made you that way. And I didn't expect...ever to find out.  
  
She simply looked at him, unable to formulate a thought.  
  
I didn't think you'd ever be able to open up enough to let anyone see who you are. He took a step forward. I...was wrong. And I don't want you to run away, someplace where you'll become the same person I met, all over again. I want to come with you.  
  
For an instant, SeeD and her predicament did not matter in the least. She embraces him, trembling, wanting never to let go.


	4. Loss

Intervigilium. That's what I'll call it. The woman looked approvingly at the image laid out on the canvas before her.  
  
translated the man behind her. Stepping forward, he regarded the image she had created on the canvas before them.  
  
Twenty-three years had accustomed the two of them to lives which they had never expected to live. Sarina had transformed from a lonely girl caught in the shadows of her past, to a happy, content wife and mother, looking forward to the future. And Darren had gone from mysterious stranger to steadfast husband, and a wonderful father for their child.  
  
They had lived in the countryside of Northern Centra for over two decades, building first a home and then a family. Their nine-year-old daughter had grown up without having to worry for her safety, and without being forbidden to go outside. It would have been a dream come true for Sarina, had such a future ever even occurred to her.  
  
Speaking of sleep, Darren continued, Ria's been in bed for an hour. You can finish the painting tomorrow.  
  
Oh, it is finished, she replied. But if I couldn't think of a name now, I'd be jumping up in the middle of the night to write ideas down.  
  
He smiled. You'll be second-guessing your name all night long anyway. It took you days to convince yourself about Audax.  
  
You just don't understand how important this is.  
  
Well, maybe when you decide to _show_ these to somebody —  
  
She elbowed him.  
  
  
  
They both turned to see a young girl standing in the door of the study. She had brown hair that reached just past her shoulders, and was clutching a Moomba doll to her chest, with a slightly worried expression on her face.  
  
Sarina hurried over and knelt down beside her. What is it, dear? Why aren't you in bed?  
  
There's some strange people outside, the girl explained. I heard them talking.  
  
Sarina frowned, looking up at Darren. she asked.  
  
There's a first time for everything, he replied, heading for the case where he keept his combat staff.  
  
Ria, go to your room, all right? Sarina said, softly but urgently. Her daughter nodded, and turned to leave. Sarina also stepped into the hallway, but, absently fingering the white feather secured to her wrist, she turned toward the door rather than the bedrooms. At the moment, she was only curious about the intruders, but a strange sense of apprehension was beginning to grow.  
  
She carefully released the guard on the front door, then faded it out. It was dark outside, but she could almost instantly hear the rustling of footsteps somewhere nearby. Many footsteps.  
  
Who's there? she asked into the darkness.  
  
There were lights in the yard. Bobbing, flickering lights. Behind the trees. Torches. As she watched, a crowd of people emerged, one by one, into the clearing leading up to her door. She could recognize some of them; the young man who owns the transportation garage in town, the woman who polices the market. In the flickering light of the torches, their faces were gaunt and hard in the flickering light.  
  
For a moment, they just stared at her, and she back at them. Sarina could still not bring herself to believe what was happening, that this was not some horrible dream. Her hands began to shake.  
  
cried the young man.  
  
This sparked a fury of shouts and jeers, as everyone, without moving a centimeter forward, tried to get their piece in. The noise was deafening. Yet that first word, by that young man who had always had a smile for her when she came to buy fuel for her car, the screams of that woman who would never say an unkind word...looking now at the hate in those familiar faces of old friends, cut straight through her like a knife. She felt sick, looking at them.  
  
After in immeasurable eternity of hate, a stranger pushed his way through. More than his scarred, ruthless face or the battle axe at his side, the first thing she noticed was the pressed, white uniform that nearly stopped her heart for good.  
  
A SeeD.  
  
As he stepped forward, the shouting died down. He stood about two meters ahead of her, cold eyes filled with a sort of impersonal contempt. As you can see, he began, gruff voice showing no sign of emotion, we know who you are, Sorceress Sarina.  
  
She shook her head, heart pounding. N...no, there's a mistake —  
  
There's no mistake.  
  
Another SeeD stepped out of the crowd, a strange cylindrical machine slung from his shoulder. We can contain your power with this Junction Machine, he said. You'll be giving your life for the safety of the world.  
  
What's going on out here?  
  
Darren, staff in hand, charged out the door, planting himself between her and the SeeDs like some knight from a storybook. What is this? he demanded, glaring at the crowd.  
  
That woman you're protecting is a threat to our civilization, the first SeeD said. We've come to apprehend her. Don't make this difficult.  
  
Look, I don't know who gave you _that_ idea, but you've got the wrong house, Darren insisted, not budging. I'd like you all to get off my property.  
  
Did you put a spell on him, Sorceress? demanded the young man. Is that it?  
  
This sparked a new round of accosting from the mob who, perhaps comforted by the SeeDs, now began to close in on her.  
  
a girl's voice came to her through the din. Turning, she saw her daughter, standing in the hall, Moomba doll still clutched in her arms.  
  
Darren had turned as well. Ria, go back to — aah! He was cut off as the SeeD with the Junction Machine jumped forward, attempting to disarm him. Spinning swiftly, he delivers a blow that sent the man stumbling off-balance and trying to back away.  
  
With a flash of motion, the first SeeD retaliated, grabbing Darren's staff with both hands and kneeing him in the stomach before he could react. Taking advantage of his momentary dizziness, the man drove the staff back into Darren's face, sending him stumbling backwards. The other SeeD, now recovered, now drove his fist into the side of Darren's head, knocking him to the ground.  
  
Like a pack of sharks smelling blood, the crowd surged forward, rushing onto Darren's fallen form with an inhuman roar. Suddenly, they were all over him, pounding with farming tools, rocks, their bare hands...it was out of some twisted mercy that the swarm of bodies obscured what the assault was doing to her husband's body.  
  
She was frozen by the scene, just as she had been thirty-four years ago when she had witnessed the death of her mother. That battle flashed through her mind now, but the only image that remained for more than a fleeting second was that of the strangers in white uniforms.  
  
SeeD.  
  
Now here again.  
  
A stray member of the crowd thrust a glowing stone at her, face twisted with rage. DIE, SORCERESS! he screamed.  
  
It was reflex that caused Sarina to duck out of the way. Or perhaps her knees simply gave out, and she fell to the ground. Even so, the action at once saved her, and destroyed her.  
  
The stone flashed. Behind her, there was a scream. Spinning around, she watched with horror as a black cloud formed around her daughter. In a sort of slow motion, so that every detail was accentuated, the cloaked apparition materialized just long enough to cut its sickle across the nine-year-old girl's chest. With an aborted yelp, she collapsed to the floor of the hall.  
  
Sarina screamed, rushing over to her daughter's fallen form. Eyes burning, she gathered the girl up in her shaking hands and clutched her tightly to herself, as if this action could bring her back to life. Not for you, she sobbed, futilely blinking back tears. This wasn't supposed to happen...not to you....  
  
She sat there, holding her daughter's body, time seeming to stand still. Until her ears detected something. Or rather, that absence of sound that you notice when a great din has come to an end. A sort of deathly calm had come over the people outside. As Sarina slowly lay down her daughter's body, forcing her hands to be still, she noticed that her tears were now gone. On the ground, she saw that the white feather which she always wore, had come loose from the bracelet, and fallen. In standing, she picked it up.  
  
Why did you kome here? she demanded of the people behind her, in clipped, harsh tones that emphasized her acquired Centra accent. What did you kome here for?  
  
Slowly, she turned to the group, who were now standing once again. All eyes were on her.  
  
We didn't want this to happen, said the SeeD. If you'd came peacefully —  
  
Then you kould have killed me without any trouble, she finished. You kame here to kill. Why? Because I'm a threat? She stepped forward. After thirty-four years as a Sorceress, never hurting anyone, _now_ I am a threat you must destroy?  
  
We — the SeeD began.  
  
And you brought this mob with you, she continued, advancing further. Attacking like a swarm. Like lokusts. She eyed the crowd. Because my husband and nine-year old daughter were that. Much. Of a threat.  
  
This is your fault, Sorceress! a voice called, but this time there was no uproar. Even the SeeDs seemed transfixed by her change in attitude.  
  
My fault? You kill my family, and it is _my_ fault? She raised an eyebrow. Does that mean, if I kill you, it will by _your_ fault?  
  
A tendril of magic was winding its way up from her feet, growing with each step she took. She was in the doorway now, and the crowd was actually recoiling from her. Even the SeeDs.  
  
Were you planning to burn me with those torches? she asked, stepping past the threshold. The tendril of magic was now wrapping around her arm. She raised her hand. All this, because I was a threat? The power was coalescing around her hand. Well, I don't want to disappoint you.  
  
A wall of flame erupted from her hand, enveloping SeeDs and crowd alike in a swirling maelstrom. Their screams mingled together with the roar of the flames, as they writhed in the unnatural heat.  
  
Allow me... she continued.  
  
The flames had caught a nearby tree on fire. The people caught in the vortex were beginning to collapse. One of the SeeDs was trying to make his way towards her.  
  
To show you...  
  
Not completely gone, that tendril of magic is now coursing between her two hands, both clenched into fists, becoming a blinding white glow.  
  
Just —  
  
She released a bolt of pure magic, one powerful enough to light the land like day for a split second. Then, it was over. Every single person, other than her, lay collapsed on the ground, bodies burned beyond recognition. The ground itself was scorched and blackened, illuminated by a raging fire in the nearby tree. Nothing moved, save the shadows dancing in the fire.  
  
Stepping up to the body of the second SeeD, she removed the Junction Machine from his remains. It was scorched badly, and the shoulder strap was gone, but nonetheless its control panel was still lit.  
  
How much of a threat, I kan be, she finished.


	5. End

A spark of lightning ran through the black cloud, as it twisted and contorted in ways nature had never intended to be possible. Tendrils solidified into talons, fastened to the cliff face by heavy chains, as battlements and towers reached up toward the sky. A massive castle was now silhouetted against the moon, swathed in dark storm clouds.  
  
She smiled. This was the place where it would happen. The Junction Machine, combined with the power of the spirit of this castle, would send her consciousness far enough into the past for her to finally obliterate all traces of this life, this world. Finally, she would be free of her past, those shadows would be gone. And this world, that had caused so much suffering, it would be gone. All the pain would be gone.  
  
No, a part of her argued. She could obliterate everything else, but what mattered was nothing but her own memory. She would always remember, no matter what. And that would always be with her.  
  
Nonetheless, she stepped forward. The chains supported her weight, and she walked, a little dazedly, towards the massive wooden doors at the top of the castle's stone staircase. Almost time. Soon it would be over.  
  
And then she stood before the door. Here it was.  
  
Where are you? she asked. Show yourself!  
  
_Why have you come here?_  
  
The voice cut straight into her mind, at once deafening and completely soundless. The words had no source, and did not register on her ears at all; nonetheless, they were completely clear.  
  
I seek your power, she replied. You are Griever? The ultimate GF?  
  
_I am._  
  
The powers of this place...I need them.  
  
_Then you are Ultimecia. The last Sorceress._  
  
This halted her for a moment. The last...?  
  
_Your powers will not be passed on in this time. All the others are gone. You are the last. Do you wish to enter this place?_  
  
She opened her mouth to reply, but something catches. Memories. Her mother, holding her close as they watched the terminal in Esthar. Her time with Darren on Selene. Watching her daughter grow up in Centra.  
  
Watching her mother killed by the SeeDs. Being forced from Selene. Watching her daughter cut down as a mob beat Darren to death.  
  
Being caught in a burning house, before her second birthday, surrounded by a mob of angry townspeople.  
  
...I want to end it, she says.  
  
_Very well._  
  
An eerie light emerged from within the castle, as the massive doors began to slide open with a low, pronounced groan. Then, a white ball of energy bursts out, ramming into her chest and enveloping her body with an aura of power strong enough to overwhelm all her senses. As the energy coursed through her, she relaxed, surrendering herself to the power of this ancient place.  
  
Soon, she thought, she would have the power she needed.  
  
Soon it would all be over.  
  


  


  


_Reflect on your...  
Childhood....  
  
Your sensation...  
Your words...  
Your emotions....  
  
Time...  
It will not wait....  
  
No matter...  
How hard you hold on...  
It escapes you....  
  
  
  
  
  
__fin_


End file.
